Best movies like Grave of the Fireflies
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Hisako loses her home in Tokyo to Allied bombing. With her husband fighting somewhere in Asia, she and her two children evacuate to a suburb of Kobe, where they share a house with Hisako's cousin, Kyoko. Kobe is bombed and Kyoko is killed. Hisako is forced to take care of Kyoko's two children in addition to her own, but there is not enough food for everyone.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 525
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, suspense, anime
Best tv shows and movies like Grave of the Fireflies (2005):
Similar in 80%
Flag of My Father (2011)
Plot Summary:
Serving her country is an honour for Judith (GiGi Erneta: Friday NIght Lights, Vernonica Mars), an army nurse whose Vietnam veteran father (William Devane: Knots Landing, 24) taught her the importance of sacrifice. After a tour in Iraq, she returns home and combats severe post-traumatic stress in the form of nightmares. She and her father share a loving bond strengthened by military camaraderie. Envious of their relationship, her brothers (led by John Schneider: The Dukes of Hazzard) shockingly rebuff her... a snub that intensifies when their father dies suddenly. Faced with the task of healing her family and mind, she relies on her faith to fight the battle. But she also battles post traumatic stress initiated by a P.O.W. experience when she fought for her life and the salvation of a fellow American solider while in captivity. When a secret is revealed, the brothers must find a way to humble themselves and make amends.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 182
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, surprise ending, entertaining
Similar in 82%
My Father, Rua Alguem 5555 (2003)
Plot Summary:
A man who grew up an orphan finally gets to meet his father: The psychopath Dr. Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz surgeon who performed genetic experiments on concentration camp refugees during WWII.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 286
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, Brazil, Hungary
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense
Similar in 86%
The Last Vermeer (2019)
Plot Summary:
A soldier and member of the Dutch resistance investigates stolen art in the wake of the Second World War, including a Vermeer sold to the Nazis by a flamboyant forger.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, disturbing, interesting
Similar in 81%
Tombstone of the Fireflies (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 370
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, touching, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 80%
The 25th Hour (1967)
Plot Summary:
A Romanian peasant fights to get back to his family after he's imprisoned by the Nazis.The picture is based on real events. It includes Hungary's government in collaboration with the Nazis, the encroachment of Romania by Stalin's troopers, and other happenings.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, Italy, Yugoslavia
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
My Honor Was Loyalty (2016)
Plot Summary:
Captain Ludwig Herckel a devoted and patriotic soldier of the SS Leibstandarte fights in every major conflict from the Eastern front to the battle of the bulge. Fiercely loyal to his country and his brothers in arms, loved by his men, Herckel will face his greatest battle yet when he discovers the truth about the Nazi regime.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, heartbreaking, suspense, disturbing, political thriller
Similar in 79%
Hanagatami (2017)
Plot Summary:
Spring, 1941. Sixteen-year-old Toshihiko attends school in the coastal town of Karatsu, where his aunt cares for his ailing cousin. Immersed in the seaside's nature and culture, Toshihiko soon befriends the town's other extraordinary adolescents as they all contend with the war's gravitational pull.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 749
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 169 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, surreal, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Summer Solstice (2015)
Plot Summary:
Coming of Age Drama in rural Poland in the summer of 1943.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 423
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland, Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing, period piece
Similar in 78%
Our Time Will Come (2017)
Plot Summary:
In Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, a school teacher and her would-be-fiancé link up with Chinese guerrilla fighters, forging their own path to freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 995
Genere: Drama, War
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 83%
A Melody to Remember (2016)
Plot Summary:
Second Lieutenant Han Sang-yeol leads his platoon during the Korean War in the early 1950s. He carries emotional scars and pain within. So when he meets some children from a choir, who have lost everything in the war, Sang-yeol is deeply moved and tries to protect to them.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 372
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Side Job. (2017)
Plot Summary:
Based on the novel "Kanojo no Jinsei wa Machigai ja Nai" (literal translation: Her life is not at fault) by Director Hiroki, it is a powerful story of survivors, who are all trying to find their own silver linings in life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating
Similar in 88%
Dark Was the Night (2018)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of tragedy, a woman and her teenage son must forge into uncharted territory in order to move on with their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 685
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Ode to My Father (2014)
Plot Summary:
Amid the chaos of refugees fleeing the Korean War in December 1950, a young boy, Duk-soo, sees his fate change in the blink of an eye when he loses track of his younger sister and he leaves his father behind to find her. Settling at Gukje Market in Busan, Duk-soo devotes himself to his remaining family, working all manner of odd jobs to support them in place of his father. His dedication leads him first to the deadly coal mines of Germany, where he meets his first love, Youngja, and then to war-torn Vietnam in this powerful generational epic about one man’s personal sacrifices.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, serious, captivating, social, sad, sentimental, epic, extraordinary
Similar in 89%
Foxhole (2021)
Plot Summary:
Unfolding over the span of 36 hours in three separate wars – The American Civil War, World War I, and Iraq – FOXHOLE follows five soldiers confined in a foxhole as they grapple with morality, futility, and an increasingly volatile combat situation. Casting the same five actors in each episode, the film depicts the shifting roles of race and gender over time against the backdrop of the seemingly endless human struggle for power and domination. (Olivia Belluck).
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Strange Gardens (2003)
Plot Summary:
Lucien, 14, can’t understand why his father, a serious and respected teacher, makes a fool of himself by dressing up as a clown and giving a show. André, Lucien’s father’s best friend, feels for the teenager and decides to reveal something from their mutual past that will explain the reason for Lucien’s father’s strange behavior.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 87%
Changeover (2016)
Plot Summary:
A girl grieving the horrific loss of her parents moves in with relatives, who try their best to welcome her into the family.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 195
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972)
Plot Summary:
A war widow determined to clear the name of her disgraced husband, who was court-martialed for desertion and executed. Official records have been destroyed, and the ministry that distributes benefits continues to deny her a pension. Twenty-six years after the war, she seeks out four survivors of her husband's garrison. Each tells a dramatically different story about her husband's conduct, but she is determined to learn the truth.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, disturbing, captivating, emotional, sincere, atmospheric, bleak, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 80%
Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Plot Summary:
In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Sword of Honour (2001)
Plot Summary:
Guy Crouchback joins the war effort during World War 2, an idealistic quest to join the forces of good in the fight against evil. But his efforts is not rewarded, he never has any chance to join any real fighting, circumstances always prevent it. Instead he finds himself in the middle of an army full of cowards, incompetents and a few outright evil men. They of course reap the fortunes of war, promotions and fame, but never Crouchback. His war is just an endless list of transfers and an hopeless but noble quest for righteousness.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 918
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 208 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, touching, semi autobiographical, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Soldier Boy (2019)
Plot Summary:
The film is based on real events. This is a story about exciting events that occurred in the life of the smallest soldier - the hero of the Great Patriotic War, six-year-old Sergei Aleshkov. He lost all his relatives and got into the army. With a six-year-old boy, they started playing the soldier game in order to preserve his childhood, and he, in order to comply with this honorary title, became a real defender of the Motherland.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 795
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Belarus, Russia
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 85%
Oba: The Last Samurai (2011)
Plot Summary:
In 1944, the American military lands on the shores of Saipan. Refusing to commit suicide with his superiors or be forced into camps for prisoners of war, Captain Oba Sakae leads a group of his men and other similarly minded local residents into the mountains. Even after hearing reports of the Japanese military's surrender, Oba dismisses the reports as propaganda and continues to launch guerilla attacks against the American soldiers, earning him the nickname "The Fox". Soon, even the American commander who's charged with the task of capturing Oba comes to admire his persistent enemy.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Stones for the Rampart (2014)
Plot Summary:
To be defeated and not be - a victory. This is the motto that life is guided by three young friends: Alek, Sophy and Rudy. Scouts, high school graduates high school in Warsaw drifting ambitious plans for the future broken through September 1939. Entering adulthood in a very dramatic times, which puts them a choice - to survive at any cost, or to join the fighting for a free homeland, risking everything. The boys brought up in patriotic homes, shaped by the ideals of scouting, they decide to fight. They become soldiers, and although every scrape with death, they can live a full life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Winter in Wartime (2008)
Plot Summary:
During World War II in the freezing Netherlands winter of 1944/1945 the western Netherlands are in the grip of a famine. Many people move east to provide for their families. Fourteen year old Michiel can't wait to join the Dutch resistance, to the dismay of his father, who, as mayor, works to prevent escalations in the village.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, serious, realistic, captivating, sexy, sad, stylized, gloomy, tear jerker
Similar in 87%
Blizzard of Souls (2019)
Plot Summary:
The love story of sixteen-year-old Arturs is interrupted by the First World War. After losing his mother and his home, he finds some consolation in joining the army, because this is the first time national battalions are allowed in the Russian Empire. But war is nothing like Arturs imagined – no glory, no fairness. It is brutal and painful. Arturs is now completely alone as war takes the lives of his father and brother. Also, no progress is made in the promised quick resolution of the war and timely return home. Within the notion that only he alone cares about returning home and that his homeland is just a playground for other nations, Arturs finds strength for the final battle and eventually returns home to start everything from scratch, just like his newly born country.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Latvia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, thought provoking, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 89%
The Yellow Birds (2017)
Plot Summary:
Two young soldiers, Bartle and Murph, navigate the terrors of the Iraq war under the command of the older, troubled Sergeant Sterling. All the while, Bartle is tortured by a promise he made to Murph's mother before their deployment.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, realistic, disturbing, sad
Similar in 81%
Fires on the Plain (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the final days of World War II, occupying Japanese forces in the Philippines face resistance from the local population and the American offensive. The dwindling Japanese soldiers attempt to survive through the horrors of war.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 831
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, atmospheric, realistic, captivating, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 85%
Mother of Mine (2005)
Plot Summary:
1943: Nine-year-old Eero whose father is killed during the war is brought to Sweden to foster parents to his protection like thousands of other Finnish children. Eero feels lost, particularly as his foster mother Signe behaves very unfriendly. She was expecting a little girl and still mourns for her daughter who drowned in the sea.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, melancholic, bleak, realistic, sincere, captivating, serious, gloomy, surprise ending
Similar in 79%
The Tin Drum (1979)
Plot Summary:
Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: surreal, disturbing, controversial, art house, harsh, talky, realistic, clever, epic, serious
Similar in 81%
First They Killed My Father (2017)
Plot Summary:
A 5-year-old girl embarks on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Cambodia, USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, factual, psychological, rough, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, emotional, political, independent film
Similar in 81%
The Book Thief (2013)
Plot Summary:
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refuge is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 141000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, serious, captivating, sad, stylized, tear jerker, period piece, motivational